Odd smell from fireplace

Hi Alex any updates on this post? What did you do? I am too having this same issue in a brownstone apt we are renting. We are on the second floor. I can take off the old iron face plate and behind a piece of cardboard there is dusty open pipe with a musty draft blowing out. How does one seal this off?

theskinnyjerk

in Chimney and Fireplace 11 years and 5 months ago

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alexbklyn | 12 years and 11 months ago

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Hi everyone, I just moved in to the top floor of an old brick townhouse.  In our dining room there is an antique fireplace – I don’t have a picture, but has a marble mantle and a semi-circular black cast-iron plate covering the opening.  We’ve noticed a draft coming out of the fireplace and a strange smell.  I don’t know much about these fireplaces but I’m guessing it might have once been coal-burning and perhaps I’m smelling the old coal residue/soot still in the chimney?  I haven’t yet brought this to the attention of my landlord, but the smell is quite annoying, and also I have a young infant and don’t want her exposed to any toxins. I can also notice this smell coming from cracks between the exposed bricks over the mantle. The iron plate appears to be pretty firmly attached, but peering through an ornamental grate with a flashlight, it looks like the chimney has not been sealed in any way.  Can anyone tell me how easy is it to seal up a fireplace (I don’t think the landlord ever intends for tenants to use it) and the brickwork above the mantle?  Other than the annoying smell, does anyone know if this poses a health hazard to my family and baby?  Is this something my landlord would be compelled to fix? Thanks! Alex

slopette | 12 years and 11 months ago

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Are you sure it’s not dead-animal smell?

Rick | 12 years and 11 months ago

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Gosh, just talk to your landlord. What’s the big deal?  It could be a gas leak or perhaps the chimney is being used as a vent for the hot water heater, or it’s just damp and musty.  Open a window and call your landlord.

callalily | 12 years and 11 months ago

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Check with you landlord to see if the chimney is being used to vent gas or oil heaters. If it is, they need to bring in a heating or chimney expert with sensitive carbon monoxide and gas detectors to see if there is a leak. If there is a leak, they have to reline the chimney. Alternatively, it’s quite possible that what you are smelling is creosete from many years ago, which blows in through cracks in the chimney whenever there is wind. We had this problem and it went away after about a year. Creosete is cancerous, but this is only dust, not active fumes. I’m not sure it would be dangerous for a baby. Maybe. I guess I wouldn’t have the baby sleeping in that room. You could ask a chimney expert such as Manny LaSalle if he could seal up any cracks (invisibly, with plaster and caulk).

bpie | 12 years and 11 months ago

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Unless it’s carbon monoxide (which you woudln’t smell anyway) or gas fumes, I don’t think it’s any worse than the toxic emissions in our environment.  It may be damp in there and you are smelling a flue that was used to burn wood.  If that flue is being used for the boiler, it should be lined.  Is the boiler in the back of the house?  Is this fireplace in the back or front of the house.  If it’s in the front, it’s probably not hooked up to the boiler.

callalily | 12 years and 11 months ago

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A boiler or a hot water heater can be located anywhere in the building — back or front. Ours is in the front, for example, but was previously located in the rear.

callalily | 12 years and 11 months ago

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If the chimney is not being used, it can be capped. This is not expensive but should be done by a roofer or chimney expert. Alternatively, there may also be a flue damper that can be opened and closed.

DouglasAlan | 12 years and 11 months ago

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Absolutely pursue this. Even if it’s just a strange smell, as you say, your landlord should take care of it. My main concern here is asbestos. When they sealed old fireplaces up in the past, that’s what they used. So find out if any of the other fireplaces on that line are sealed. If they are, insist upon an air quality test. Even if the fireplaces aren’t sealed, or if your landlord says they were sealed after 1978, you probably still want a test. Who knows what sort of mold, soot, carbon monoxide or whatever else has been blowing into your apartment for who knows how long. And, if the fireplace is unusable, you should make sure it gets sealed.

karenduke | 12 years and 10 months ago

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If you could describe the smell, it would be helpful. Does it smell like sulphur, or like burned ham, or rotten like a dead animal, or musty? As others have said, make sure this chimney isn’t currently being used to vent another appliance, such as a furnace or water heater. If it is truly not being used, then you can proceed to blocking it off. Since warm air rises and cool air sinks, the smells you’re getting are coming from the cooler air in the chimney that are falling into the room from the fireplace opening. The easy answer is to stuff fiberglass insulation into the chimney from the fireplace opening. Get the insulation as far up as you can; depending on how vertical the chimney is you may be able to use a broom handle. By stuffing the insulation up as far as you can go, you’ll help stop the air that is seeping out through the mortar in the exposed brick. While exposed brick is all the rage, keep in mind that when the building was new, this brick would have been covered over in plaster, which also seals the bricks. If you really like the exposed natural brick look then you could paint it with a clear lacquer to help seal it. Otherwise, paint would work if a painted brick appearance is desired. So get the exposed bricks sealed and stuff insulation above the fireplace opening to help keep air from falling down the chimney and bringing those odors with it. HINT: if you’re noticing cold air coming down the chimney in the summer, you’d also have heat rising through the chimney in the winter, which is an expensive heat loss. The insulation will prevent heat loss this winter too.

fireplacemaven | 11 years and 8 months ago

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If you want to block it without permanently sealing it, consider using a chimney balloon. It’s a cheap fix that can help with draft and heat leakage, and may also keep the smell from coming out.

pmhcuuxmobsohz | 11 years and 6 months ago

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